Achi news desk-
Canada’s sports integrity watchdog is pushing for stronger policies to prevent competitive manipulation and match-fixing at all levels of competition.
The Canadian Center for Ethics in Sport released its first draft of a new program to prevent competition manipulation on Wednesday, the same day the NBA suspended former Toronto Raptors backup center Jontay Porter for his role in betting irregularities surrounding his performance on the court. Jeremy Luke, CEO of the sports integrity body, said he hopes Porter’s case is a wake-up call for Canada.
“People are becoming more aware of this risk, or at least aware of this risk now,” Luke said on Thursday. “It is very important that we put mechanisms in place to prevent, or at least mitigate the risk as much as we can.”
The NBA found that Porter violated its rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on league games. Luke said Porter’s strong punishment was no surprise.
“I thought (the NBA) needed to take significant action in this particular case, but I wasn’t surprised either with the situation itself,” Luke said. “The legalization of single event sports betting and the proliferation of advertising certainly increases the risk of competition manipulation.”
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The CCES held symposia on the dangers of competition manipulation and match-fixing in 2019 and 2023, issuing white papers after each that called for stronger federal policies around sports betting. The 2019 report was published before Canada legalized sports betting and the 2023 file built on those original findings.
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The draft Canadian Program to Prevent Competition Manipulation published this week by CCES and the Canadian Olympic Committee was co-written by a working group that included national sports organizations for badminton, basketball, cross-country skiing, curling, hockey, racquetball, soccer, speed skating and squash, as well as Sports Canada and AthletesCAN.
The proposed national policy includes comprehensive educational programs targeted at athletes, coaches and other participants. If adopted, it would empower CCES to administer the policy on behalf of any signatory sporting organisations.
“That’s similar to the way anti-doping works in Canada, where you have one organization (CCES) that is independent of sport that administers the policy on behalf of sport,” Luke said. “That way you can be confident that the organization has the necessary authority and that you can proceed with any disciplinary action that may be necessary,”
According to NBA investigators, among other crimes, Porter feigned illness to pull himself out of a Raptors game in Toronto to affect bets placed on his performance.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which oversees sports betting in the province, said the Ontario Provincial Police office embedded in that agency is investigating Porter’s case. An AGCO spokesperson referred to Section 209 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which prohibits “cheating in playing a game or betting with intent to defraud.”
The CCES and other experts on the manipulation of competition say that Section 209 is not robust enough.
The CCES white papers and draft policy call for Canada to sign the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, better known as the Macolin Convention after the Swiss city where it was written. That multilateral agreement aims to prevent, detect and punish match-fixing in sports and is open to all countries — Australia, for example, is a non-European signatory — and requires all members of the convention to have clearly expressed laws regarding competition. handle
“Having law enforcement involved in these situations is quite useful from an information sharing perspective, from a potential organized crime perspective related to this type of activity,” Luke said. “Given the amount of money that is spent on sport, which can attract that type of situation, and given the serious safety issues that could arise from that, making sure we have laws that can deal with this and make sure we have it. a framework in place where betting operators and regulators can report things, and the police can take action or law enforcement can act on it effectively, I think it’s important.”
— With files from Allison Jones in Toronto.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 18, 2024.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
